Arizona Diamondbacks take aim at strikeouts

The Diamondbacks have struck out 1,373 times this season, the third-highest total in baseball history. And they have 15 games remaining.

At this pace, they won't just surpass the all-time strikeout record, set by the 2001 Milwaukee Brewers with 1,399. They will obliterate it.

League leader Mark Reynolds is on pace for 220 strikeouts, which would just about equal his record total (223) from last year. Justin Upton is on pace for 172, Adam LaRoche 167, Kelly Johnson 147, Chris Young 145. Each ranks among the top 14 in the league.

"I think every team is going to have guys who drive in runs, hit home runs and strike out a lot," LaRoche said. "I think we're a particular team that has three or four of those guys who have a tendency to strike out."

Arguments can be made that strikeouts are no worse than any other out and, for most sluggers not named Albert Pujols, total bases and strikeouts go hand in hand. But the Diamondbacks' organization seems determined to find a way to reduce their gaudy totals in future seasons.

"It's definitely something that needs to be addressed," said interim General Manager Jerry Dipoto, who formally interviewed for the permanent job this week. "Whether I retain this position or someone else is sitting here in the not-too-distant future, I would tell you it's a real issue."

The Diamondbacks are hurtling toward the record with abandon. In the first seven games of their current road trip, they struck out 85 times, punching out at least 12 times in each of the first six games, and adding nine more Thursday.

LaRoche said that "98 percent of the time," a strikeout is the equivalent of a ground out or a fly out.

"An out's an out," he said.

But he believes they come with adverse side effects.

"When you strike out, you give the pitcher more and more confidence, so their stuff can get better," LaRoche said. "And, also, you're not putting pressure on the defense. There's a lot that goes into it."

Strikeouts just outs

From a statistical viewpoint, however, an out really is an out. According to Tom Tango, a consultant for the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays, the actual negative value of a strikeout is considerably less than what you might think.

He acknowledged that in certain situations - for example, a runner on third and less than two outs or a man on second and nobody out - a strikeout can be costly. But when looking at the 24 possible situations based on outs and bases occupied and weighing them according to how often those situations occur, Tango said a strikeout costs an extra 0.01 runs compared with a ground out or fly out.

"So if you have Mark Reynolds with 200 strikeouts, and given that the average hitter would strike out 100 times, Reynolds' strikeouts cost one run," he wrote in an e-mail. "I know it doesn't 'feel' like it, and I know it's incredibly frustrating to see a hitter strike out in clutch situations, since fans predominantly simply want the batter to put the damn bat on the damn ball.

"But anyone who sits down and works it out has always come to a very similar conclusion."

Reynolds said all the punchouts aren't worthy of admiration and said winning, not striking out fewer times, should be the team's primary focus.

"We're a good offensive team," Reynolds said. "We score runs. We're up there in walks. We just make our outs in a way that people consider bad. If we're scoring runs and supporting our pitchers, I think the way we make our outs should be secondary."

The K club

But the strikeouts certainly contribute to the Diamondbacks being among the worst teams in the league in the statistical categories that track productive outs, i.e., the ability to move runners from base to base.

"We're seventh in the league in runs scored; kind of a middle-of-the-pack offense in regard to scoring runs," Dipoto said. "I think anybody who watches our club on a daily basis understands that it comes with spurts and we're not adept at handling situations because of the looming threat of strikeouts."

Dipoto noted the coaching staff has addressed it with the players - interim manager Kirk Gibson has made it something of a focus during his time on the job - but said it's hard to expect fundamental change at this stage in the season. And LaRoche was quick to defend hitting coach Jack Howell, calling him "one of the best coaches I've had."

"He's done all he can do," LaRoche said. "I just hope he doesn't take any responsibility for the strikeouts. There comes a point when you got to take it on yourself to make an adjustment. Me included. I have not done a good job of doing that this year."

Because it might be unrealistic to expect any of the Diamondbacks' current players to drastically reduce their strikeouts from year to year, if the club is serious about changing the dynamic of the lineup it likely would mean going with a new mix of players.

Obviously, the course the team charts won't be clear until it settles on a new general manager.